Jan. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. has hired Xerox Corp.
Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri as its corporate
controller, a sign that the iPhone and iPad maker may be
considering a succession plan for its own CFO.

Xerox, a provider of printers and business services, has
started an external search to replace Maestri, who will depart
on Feb. 28, the Norwalk, Connecticut-based company said
yesterday in a statement. Maestri was the finance chief at Nokia
Siemens Networks before joining Xerox in February 2011.

Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO since 2004, began his ascent
through the management ranks as controller for the Americas in
1996. Like Maestri, he joined Apple after serving as finance
chief elsewhere -- in Oppenheimer’s case it was at Automatic
Data Processing Inc. Apple said in June that its last
controller, Betsy Rafael, would retire in October 2012.

“Moving from Xerox to Apple is a step up, even going from
CFO to controller,” John Bright, an analyst at Avondale
Partners LLC, said in an interview. “Is this a stepping stone?
It certainly could be.”

The move could be a signal that Apple is ready to plan for
Oppenheimer’s succession, Ben Reitzes, an analyst at Barclays
Capital, said in a note to investors. Apple has mulled the
future of the position since at least 2011, when the company
approached Blackstone Group LP’s CFO about the job, people
familiar with the matter said at the time.

Apple hiring Maestri could also mean an increase in
buybacks and dividends, as the company looks to take advantage
of its cash hoard, Reitzes said.

“Maestri is a champion of shareholder return,” Reitzes
said in the note. “The hiring of Maestri could mean that Apple
is leaning in that direction long-term.”

Apple is “thrilled that Luca Maestri will be joining us,”
said Steve Dowling, a spokesman for the Cupertino, California-based company. “He brings more than 20 years of experience in
finance and management, and we look forward to working with
him.”